Two Lakewood infants are in critical condition after contracting Pertussis, TLS is reporting. Pertussis, also known as Whooping Cough, is caused by a bacterium that lives in the mouth, nose and throat. Symptoms start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough – similar to a cold – but within weeks becomes more severe and progresses to severe spasms of coughing that can interfere with eating, drinking and breathing.
The bacteria is spread by direct contact with respiratory droplets, such as through coughing and sneezing, from an infected person or by touching the fluids and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Lakewood’s leading pediatrician, Dr. Shanik, says the very contagious illness is so severe, that if his patients are not properly immunized, he apologizes, but for the safety of his patients and the community, he will discontinue to see that patient in his practice.
Any parent whose child is in a playgroup with a child not properly immunized against Pertussis, should immediately pull their child out of the playgroup, Dr. Shanik says.
The two Lakewood children, ages 6 weeks and 8 months, are in the ICU, and listed in critical condition.
Some other disease outbreaks — like measles — have been fueled by parents refusing to get their children inoculated out of the debunked fear the shots cause autism.
(Source: TLS)
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19 Responses
why pull your kid out if child is properly innoculated? isnt that what the innoculation does, protect the child?
Amama, I think the idea is to put pressure on the playgroup owner to get the parents to immunize. There is probably a medical reason too, but a health professional could give proper, expert information.
Were these 2 children properly immunized or did they refuse the immunizations?
In response to amama, while immunization does protect children (and whoever else gets the vaccine) from the disease, it does not wok in all children. 1% of children that receive a vaccination can still contact that disease.
I’m pretty sure Dr Shanik has had this policy for a while and it isn’t a new policy.
Parents that send their sick kids to school is not mentchlich because they cause other children to become sick and then other parents have to take off from work. The lack of mentchlichkeit becomes a geneivah issue.
Parents should realize that yeshiva is not a baby sitting service and if your kid is sick with fever,shigella,whopping cough and other catchy stuff please leave the kid at home for at least 24 to 48 hours after the start of medication.
I doubt if any playgroups ask if children are up to date in immunizations.
Those that spread falsehood and lies that vaccines cause immunization…
אין לך מכשולי הרבים גדולה מזו.
I applaud the doctor’s decision. Parents who are not immunizing their children are a threat to public health and should be ashamed of themselves.
I had Whooping Cough when I was 13 years old DESPITE being immunized!! The shots dont mean you wont get it so dont blame the parents if the kids have it.
Whooping Cough is NOT fun at all. I used to cough so much I would black out.
The 7-month-old baby is my nephew. His name for Tehillim is Yisroel Meir ben Sarah Gittel. Please daven for him – your tefillos are urgently need for him, b’soch she’ar cholei yisroel.
Not vaccinating is very irresponsible. The benefits and risks of vaccinating greatly outweigh the risks of not vaccinating.
A 6 week old wouldnt have been immunized yet anyway.
Refuah sheleima.
One of the babies is only six weeks old and did not even have the opportunity to be immunized yet. By not immunizing your own healthy children, you put this baby, and others who cannot be immunized due to age and/or health reasons, at risk. Why would you do that?
#8 it doesn’t mean you wont get it what the shot does is make the sickness less severe as to not be deadly its not a 100% shield. It comes to show you how people will not change their ways even when they know they made a mistake. A few months ago the doctor from the UK who made up all this hogwash about immunizations causing autism admitted to making the whole thing up, and still people wont get the shots i have very harsh words for such “parents” i’ll refrain
P.S prior to immunizations out of a family of 12 only 3 made it to adulthood
As for the 8 month old that caught whooping cough, we dont know if he received the vaccine or not but as for the 6 week old baby…that baby was too young to receive an vaccine’s. So its for sure not the parents fault in that case.
Few, if any, immunizations are 100% effective. To obtain 100% effectiveness, and to protect people unable to be immunized we rely on “herd immunity.” If 99% of the population is 90% protected, there shouldn’t be an outbreak. These babies were too young to have received the Dtap shots yet (the older one may have had one so far). They also rely on “herd immunity” – the vaccination of the kids around them. Their parents have done nothing wrong (assuming the other children in the family were properly vaccinated). The disease was passed along to them by careless parents who did not immunize.
Pertussis has made a comback amongst pre-teens and adults, including new mothers. That is why there is a new booster, the Tdap, required in New York State to enter 6th grade. (And some doctors will administer to a new mother within hours of giving birth.) In addition, adults are encouraged to get the full three-combo vaccine when getting their “tetanus” shot every 10 years. DT has proven insufficient Dtap, or some version thereof is preferred.
eric55: 3/12 is pushing it. Infant survival rate wasn’t quite that low. And the increased infant survival rate, although a lot is due to vaccinations, many are also due to “common” antibiotics for “simple” diseases like strep and pneumonia. Additional child safety awareness in general has gone up and reduced accidents (which today might not even result in a death but did then).
Is there a special vaccine against whooping cough, or the regular scheduled immunization shots would take care of it?
It is part of the routine immunization schedule. It is called Dtap. There are three or four given before age 2, and a booster at about age 5. Now there is another booster called Tdap given at 10 or 11 years old.
Dtap = Dyphtheria, Tetanus, acellular Pertusis
Tdap = Tetanus, Dyphtheria, acellular Pertusis
Adult should get a “tetanus shot” every 10 years (5 if there is an injury). This can be the DT = Dyphtheria, Tetanus but folks are encouraged to get the Dtap even as adults as Pertussis immunity is proving to wear off.
Get medical advice from your doctor, not YWN, the Internets or Michelle Bachmann.